Throwing candy away - Page 14

[Murph12334]

we are in the country and don't get t&T'ers. If we were in the city and I spent money on candy i'd be upset to hear it was thrown out. I'd be using my money for the kids where it could/should have been used elsewhere.

People need to find other things to do with the candy - take it to work, take it to somewhere and give away, don;t just throw it out though!

[hollytheteacher]

Originally Posted by purplemoon

No. They say give it away to someone else instead of throwing it away.

But some people don't want to harm others in what they percieve as health garbage and would rather throw it away.

Others made the suggestion that if you hate candy that much don't support the supply and demand and have a party instead.

Then people said that there are people who want candy even if it will rot their teeth like homeless people, sad people, lonely people, sad kids, dying people, old people.

Then others chimed in that ToT is a cultural fun time with kids parading their costumes and they want to participate and that people should invest in other things to give out. Stickers, play-doh, raisins.

Then others said kids wouldn't like that, they want candy.

And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter as long as you are happy with your decision to ingest candy, some of the candy, none of the candy, donate the candy, burn the candy or put it on a rocket with a sign of poison and shoot it into space.

hahahahahahhah Your post is great And it does a really nice job summing up this whole thread!

[RasJi7]

There is a local ped around me that is asking kids to bring in their candy. For every pound they get $5. If they want to donate the $5 to a charity (forget which charity it was- maybe hunger?) the ped will match them dollar for dollar.
The candy will then get sent over seas to the troops. Also they encourage kids to make a Halloween card for a soldier.

How thoughtful!

[MommyKelly]

I havent read all the replies, but after trick or treating the kids pick out about 10pieces of candy. The rest gets left out for the "sugar plum fairy" who in turn leaves small gifts in exchange.

Then the extra candy goes to Dh work to give out to the people waiting in line. ( He works at the food bank)

[Carma]

Originally Posted by RasJi7

There is a local ped around me that is asking kids to bring in their candy. For every pound they get $5. If they want to donate the $5 to a charity (forget which charity it was- maybe hunger?) the ped will match them dollar for dollar.
The candy will then get sent over seas to the troops. Also they encourage kids to make a Halloween card for a soldier.

How thoughtful!

We have a dentist doing something like this overhere. Other things he requested for the troops were babywipes, so I am wandering if it is a good idea to send candy to the troops, will they be able to brush their teeth good enough when they need babywipes to wash themselves?

Carma

[LittleBlessings]

Originally Posted by just_lily

I think it is really rude to the people who paid good money to give out candy to trick or treaters to have it only go into the garbage. Some people have to scrimp in other areas to pay for candy to give out (where I used to live we would get 200 kids!) and to have it just go into the garbage is such a waste.

[Amandamarie]

My dd is allergic to corn products and most of the candy given out has some type of corn product in it. Usually corn syrup, which gives my dd painful hives.
She goes trick or treating and then after we exchange the candy with a small bag of corn-free candy and little toys. Her dad loves candy so he gets the regular candy and my dd is happy because she gets treats too. She doesn't eat it all at once though. I keep in the refrig and she can have a piece for dessert.

[OkiMom]

I actually had to laugh about the baby wipes to wash themselves comment. I was deployed, we had tons of water bottles that we used for drinking and basic higene (excuse the spelling I have a migrane). I use to brush my teeth and floss at least 2-4 times a day since during sandstorms Id get sand in my teeth (anyone here ever tried to talk in a sand storm? Its not easy). When there was no showers we bathed with baby wipes but still brushed our teeth. I think most of us kept our teeth cleaner than anything else we had.

As for candy, my daughter is 2 so this is what Im trying out this year. We are going to go trick or treating since she loves to dress up and met new people. When we get home Im going to allow her to pick out 14 pieces of candy (one a day for 2 weeks) then Im going to trade her the rest for a couple of new books and maybe a toy. Shes not a big candy eater so Im pretty sure she will jump at the chance to get some new books out of the deal. Im giving the candy to my in-laws since they eat a lot of it and we are going to have a full house of people for Christmas. After that its not my worry, Im sure its going to get eaten since my in-laws are big candy eaters. Last year our leftovers went to DH's work for his Marines and to the box of goodies out church sent over to the deployed Marines in Iraq and Afganistan.
As for other people throwing things out, it is a little wasteful. As I mentioned before I have been deployed, we got shipped a TON of candy. Not only was it a great treat for us but we gave some to the Iraqis and other non-military people we worked with and they were very appreciative of it. I use to work with this boy over there and his eyes got so big and happy when I gave him a little Hersheys Chocolate bar. I almost cried when I saw how happy he was over something so simple. We might think of it as junk but to someone else it might be the only piece of chocolate they have had or have had in a while.

[pianojazzgirl]

We do a trade with the Halloween Fairy. The kids (well, really just dd as ds is too young) get to choose a small amount of candy to keep (which they eat over several days). The rest of the candy is left on the table for the Halloween Fairy to take. In return she leaves a present (ideally, since our house is way over-run with rarely-used toys and books, something practical but still exciting, like this year I got dd some super sparkly cool tights).

The Halloween Fairy's candy mostly gets eaten by me and dh, though some of the really gross stuff does get tossed in the trash I'm sorry to admit (I hate the waste!).

ETA this thread has inspired me to think of somewhere to bring the left-over unwanted candy besides throw it out.

[AbbieB]

Originally Posted by just_lily
I think it is really rude to the people who paid good money to give out candy to trick or treaters to have it only go into the garbage. Some people have to scrimp in other areas to pay for candy to give out (where I used to live we would get 200 kids!) and to have it just go into the garbage is such a waste.

This thread a certainly sparked quite a few IRL conversations for me, along with lots to think about.

I was wondering if something can be rude if the person it would potentially offend has no idea you even did it? I mean it would be rude for DD to pick her nose while sitting next to me but not if she did it in the privacy of her own room.

So it would be rude for my DD to accept a handful of treats and then toss it in the trash at the end of the driveway, but why is it rude for it to be tossed a week later in the privacy of my own home? She enjoyed the candy for awhile so it's not waste in my opinion. It just was not used the way that most think it should be.

[Carma]

Originally Posted by OkiMom

I actually had to laugh about the baby wipes to wash themselves comment. I was deployed, we had tons of water bottles that we used for drinking and basic higene (excuse the spelling I have a migrane). I use to brush my teeth and floss at least 2-4 times a day since during sandstorms Id get sand in my teeth (anyone here ever tried to talk in a sand storm? Its not easy). When there was no showers we bathed with baby wipes but still brushed our teeth. I think most of us kept our teeth cleaner than anything else we had.

Ok good I was really a bit worried about causing mouth pain in our troops.

Carma

[pampered_mom]

I always struggle with these kinds of threads. On the one hand I can understand the need to commiserate or find community with others who are more like-minded. I get the need to vent and the fact that it may keep you from saying something you might otherwise regret IRL. The other side of that coin though is that it can excuse a person from doing something about it.

This thread has gone on for *14 pages* (I probably only made it through three) where people have gone back and forth about how right or how wrong it is for someone to throw candy away. About the only concrete suggestion has been that those who throw the candy away shouldn't let their children go TOT. Part of me wonders why no one has put part of the responsibility back on those who take issue with it.

If you feel strongly that throwing candy away is wrong or wasteful then why don't you do something about it locally? Maybe people in your community don't know who would accept it. Maybe they've tried before and have been turned down. Maybe they didn't even know it was a possibility.

If you know of a place that will accept it (and if you don't why not find a place that will) then volunteer to start a collection. Find a business, library, school, etc that will let you put up a bin. Advertise it in your paper or get them to write an article about it. Get a local TV station/radio station to do a piece on it. Hang up signs, etc. Enable others to make better choices - let them show their children a good solution to the issue you see at hand. Pick up the bins and deliver them to the organization. I think it's a much more powerful lesson to our children...you can show them that anyone can make a difference in the world around them no matter how small it may seem (or the person doing it may seem for that matter).

If all you do is complain about it then imo it comes off more as judgment (and adds to the whole "mommy wars" thing) - you become part of the problem instead of the solution. I don't think that's all that much better than any waste you feel takes place when families just throw the candy away.

When I give a *gift* of any kind I don't feel that I have the right to dictate how it will be used or whether or not it will be kept. IMO if one feels that way one shouldn't be giving the gift (or handing out candy on Halloween - turn your light off or choose not to be home). As for our family, we don't let the kids keep everything they get TOT - they go because it's fun and because my parents get a kick out of doing it with them. They don't get a whole lot, but they will leave the vast majority of it out for the Sugar Sprite in exchange for a small gift. We don't throw that candy away (dh takes it to work) b/c I would feel badly about wasting it. However, I don't feel motivated to do anything about someone else's waste. Since I'm not willing to do anything about it then I don't think I have the right to complain about it or be offended by another family's choice of dealing with it.

Just my .02 though.

[hillymum]

Originally Posted by BabyMae09

Throwing stuff away is bad. Eating too much sugar is bad. Old candy is bad. Giving candy away is perpetuating bad eating habits in other people. Not taking your kids trick-or-treating is bad. Taking them door-to-door but not accepting candy is bad. Having a party but limiting candy is bad. There's really no way to win.

BTW, we do a combo of most of the above. You know, to spread out the 'bad'

Life is all about balance. Sometimes we have to make choices where there really isn't a good answer.

And then we do a combo of the above because it's so much fun!!!

[riverscout]

Originally Posted by l_olive

Man, now I'm gonna be all grumpy at Halloween wondering which parents are the "tossers".

I left this thread back on page 7 and just came back to catch up and am so glad I did if only for this little gem.

[columbusmomma]

We limit DS' cany intake to a few pieces a day. Looks like this year will have to do the same thing with DD! I don't throw candy away ever. I do indulge myself, same with DH. It doesn't last for long at our house Looking forward to lots of reese's peanut butter cups